Stakes high in snowy Munich

By Mark Bennett in Munich

The UEFA Champions League final may seem more than three months off in wintry Bavaria this week, but the Olympiastadion is ready to put on a match fit to grace the tournament decider, let alone the first knockout stage. But one of FC Bayern München and Real Madrid CF will be out of the tournament by 10 March - and both need a good start on Tuesday night.

Player doubts
Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld has had far from an ideal build-up, with goalkeeper Oliver Kahn suffering a back injury in Germany's 2-1 win against Croatia last Wednesday and midfield playmaker Michael Ballack ill with bronchitis. Hitzfeld insists Kahn will play, but admits Ballack is less certain.

Goalkeeper fit
"Oliver has come through training without any problems and will definitely lead us onto the field," Hitzfeld said on Monday. "Michael has not been able to train for a week and we will have to wait and see what happens after today's training session. I will talk to him and then we will decide what to do."

Hitzfeld optimistic
Despite both Claudio Pizarro and Robert Kovac nursing slight knocks too Hitzfeld is upbeat. It is great that the match that everyone has been talking about has finally come around," he said. "We have got nothing to lose because Madrid are the favourites and we will do our best to upset them."

Warning to visitors
The home coach, whose side have been in mixed form this season, continued to warn the Spanish champions: "Bayern have a history of bouncing back from bad displays and to be honest we have not been very good in the last few weeks. We are always the most dangerous when we have got our backs against the wall."

Nothing to lose
Meanwhile, Bayern striker Roy Makaay is also full of optimism. "We have not got anything to worry about because everyone has written us off already," he said. "I can, however, tell you that we players are far from thinking that we don't have a chance. We want to get a good result."

Home advantage
Makaay added: "Madrid have not won in Munich before and that puts a lot more pressure on them. But I do not really want to talk about Madrid. We are at home and they should worry about we are going to do."

Pitch conditions
With snow creating havoc all around the Olympiastadion the conditions for the match seem to have swung in Bayern's favour. Madrid coach Carlos Queiroz admitted: "If the pitch stays the same it could be an advantage for Bayern, but at our level that should not have any effect. I am sure that my players are experienced enough to deal with the situation."

Historical hope
However, Queiroz is not just hoping that the pitch conditions and the weather will improve as he seeks to inspire Madrid's first away win at Bayern. "Real Madrid's record in Munich does not make very good reading and it just shows how good Bayern are and how hard they are to beat," he said. "Hopefully we can change history."

Fond memories
Ronaldo has also come to Munich with a purpose and has very fond memories of his last meeting with Oliver Kahn. "The last time I played against him was in the [FIFA] World Cup final and obviously it was a spectacular evening for me," Ronaldo said of Brazil's 2-0 win where he scored both goals. "That is in the past now and hopefully I will be able to take some more fond memories back to Madrid with me."